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Sunday, July 26, 2009

This afternoon Steve and I went to a little girl's 4th birthday party. We stopped by Lakeshore Learning Center to pick a present for her. A few minutes into the Lakeshore experience, Steve was beginning to get irritable. Of course, it's partly the store's fault. There's no reason to subject your customers to Musak of children singing Beatles songs. You haven't been annoyed until you've been annoyed by a chorus of children warbling Yellow Submarine.

I told Steve to head over to Starbucks and I'd pick a toy. That's when I noticed that in addition to sections for Arts & Crafts, Puzzles and Games, they had this section:

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I took my new running shoes out for a very light test run/walk yesterday. I've been putting off breaking in some new kicks for almost 2 months. New shoes aren't something you change right before a race. First, it was too close to the San Diego race, then too close to the Seattle race. I would have put it off until after the Chicago race, but my current sneakers are completely destoyed. There's no cushion left; it's sort of like running with bricks laced to my feet.

Friday, I stopped by the San Diego Running Institute and picked up a new pair of Mizunos. Since my next real run will be the Chicago half marathon, I had to make sure the new shoes aren't going to give me blisters or arch pain or make me take a hostage by mile 9.

As a test drive, I ran a bit, but mostly walked from Mission Beach to Pacific Beach and into La Jolla. The course took me right along the coastline and it was lovely and breezy, just perfect really.

I snapped this photo from the trail because I thought the shadows of the palm trees were kind of cool. I wonder why people live anywhere but here.

Monday, July 13, 2009

A few months ago I went to see Dr. Arnie Baker speak and he spoke about over-training. Basically, he said your family would know long before you did, because you'd be irritable, injury-prone and slow to recover.

Hmmm. Check, check and check.

In the 3 weeks between the San Diego race and the Seattle race it became undeniable that I needed some serious downtime. I've been running/hobbling in pain for months. When I went to the doctor he basically said that we'd already tried everything - anti-inflammatories, stretching, braces, PT. The only thing left to do is rest. I'd been endurance training for over 2 and half years without a recovery period. He was shocked that it took that long for it to catch up with me in the form of a chronic injury. I'd heard that you need take recovery time - and I've certainly preached it to others - I just never did it. After 28 races in 24 months, it was just too much.

Going into Seattle, I knew it should be my only run for the next month. (Still up in the air, if I could actually give up running for a month.) Surprisingly I didn't feel any need to push. I actually ran very little in the three weeks before the race and it paid off in a relatively pain free run. It was fun...I'd forgotten that I used to do marathons for fun and not for medals or other validation. That's what bums me the most. I hadn't noticed that I'd started to dread training/running and even races themselves.

It convinced me to take July off to recover mentally and physically. Overall, this month is about taking better care of me and of Steve, getting to bed earlier, cooking healthier dinners, basic stuff. I'm lifting weights to rebuild my upper body strength, doing some yoga, swimming. It's been weird, but good.

Of course, I can't wait for the Chicago race in early August. I won't be perfectly trained, but I'll run happy.

Monday, July 06, 2009

It's time to regroup and recup (pronounced recoup). After more than two years of marathons, it's time to takes some time to let my body heal before the next race. This is a two month training plan to allow me to rebuild. It's focused on weight lifting with light cardio cross training.

No real running is planned of the first month with the exception of 10 miler on Saturday, July 18th. I'd skip that one, but I have a half marathon on August 2. My plantar fasciae need time off to heal properly. That means no running and very little impact exercise. Also, yoga, foam roller and those goofy sleep braces. Sexy.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

The day after the Seattle race, Steve and I woke up to hear the theme from Baywatch playing outside our hotel window. Over and over and over again. There are tons of things I want to hear the morning after a race. Things like "Breakfast is served" or "The massage therapist will be here in 5 minutes". A solid half hour of the Baywatch theme on endless repeat isn't really my cup of tea.

We looked out the window to see the Gaywatch. Interesting. A quick call to the front desk told us that the Seattle Gay Pride parade would be passing right by our hotel.

Cool, I like a parade. We went outside to watch and it was the oddest gay pride parade I could imagine. About a quarter of the groups were from churches and social service agencies, another quarter were from corporations and small businesses, then there were the political candidates. That left a few spots open for actual gay people.

There was also a very tiny crowd of spectators. Steve and I were right at the start of the route and I hope there were more spectators downtown. It seems a little bit of overkill to have an entire gay pride parade just for a straight couple like us.

There were certainly a few very amusing floats. But my favorite part of the parade might have been this guy. Follow your own weird.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

I forgot to register for the America's Finest City Half Marathon. With all the hulabaloo for the San Diego and Seattle races, I totally forgot about registering for AFC. Just my luck, it sold out early this year and it's likely I'll be sitting this one out.

Bummer. AFC is definitely my favorite of the San Diego triple crown races. I'm looking for someone to sell me their bib. Who knows I might get lucky.

About Sneaker Stories

Sneaker Stories started as the blog of my marathon runs and marathon travels. My love of marathons expanded to include a bunch of endurance sports - triathlon, swimming and cycling.
I'm a participant and mentor for Team in Training and a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.